The Strategic Planning Committee of Havering Council met on 11 December 2025, to discuss a number of planning applications. The committee approved the application for a new Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) school at Sports Ground, Balgores Lane, and deferred a decision on the Havering Islamic Community Centre at 222-226 South Street, Romford.

222-226 South Street, Romford

This was a development presentation, and no decision was required. The committee had previously reviewed the plans for the partial demolition of existing buildings and redevelopment of the site to erect a new Havering Islamic Community Centre at 222-226 South Street, Romford on 13 November 2025¹. At this meeting, the developer's team presented additional information to address concerns raised by the committee at the previous meeting. The presentation covered transport and movement, including:

• The number of potential attendees, comparing it with existing figures.
• The times of day and days of the week when the centre would be in use.
• Confirmation that arrival and leaving could be accommodated within the building and on the overall site.
• An analysis of where mosque users live, confirming that it is a local facility.
• An assessment of the existing pedestrian crossing and junction capacity at South Street, Oldchurch Road and Thurloe Gardens, including waiting times.
• Details of drop-off and pick-up arrangements and the capacity of space in Oldchurch Rise car park.
• An assessment of the potential for queuing vehicles to impact the ring road.

The presentation also addressed building design, including the colour of mosaic tiles, the prominence of the portico, the scale of the riverside entrance, and the parity of space for men and women.

Following the presentation, members of the committee raised concerns about the safety of residents going to and from the proposed Atlantic Centre, particularly those crossing the roads. There were also questions about parking arrangements at the Cambridge Central Mosque, which the development team had visited as part of the design process.

Councillor David Taylor said that he believed that places of worship should be beautiful buildings, and that the designs before the committee were remarkable architectural designs. He also noted the excellent public transport links to the site.

The head of strategic planning, Simon Thurwell, confirmed that all comments would be passed on to the developer and that a full transport assessment would be included in any future committee report on the application.

Sports Ground, Balgores Lane

The committee considered an application for the proposed development of a new SEND school at Sports Ground, Balgores Lane.

The application sought full planning permission for the erection of a part single, part two storey building with a total floor area of 6339m2 to provide a new 38 classroom Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) school for both primary and secondary students with associated access and car parking, informal and formal play space, hard multipurpose games pitch (MUGA), hard and soft landscaping.

The school would have a capacity for 300 pupils aged 4-19 years (Key Stage 1 to 5), students with complex learning needs serving children from Havering's local community, and 218 members of staff would be employed on the site to support its operation.

A representative of the public, Jane, addressed the committee with concerns including:

• A transport consultation that was carried out in summer half term and exam season, which showed a lot lighter traffic than usual.
• Only 29 parking spaces being provided for over 200 staff.
• Environmental and sustainability concerns, including the impact on wildlife and light pollution.
• That the two-storey building would mean that those on the upper floors could look into gardens and homes.
• That the proposed school building plan would cause overdevelopment.

A planning consultant acting for the London Bureau of Havering, Chris Maltby, emphasised the extensive and collaborative consultation undertaken throughout the development of these proposals. He said that the scheme before the committee presented a positive, balanced and carefully considered response to the needs of the most honourable children and young people in Havering, by respecting the amenity of neighbouring residents and addressing sometimes competing planning policy objectives.

Ward councillor, Councillor Keith Prince, said that the level of engagement with him and his colleagues had been appalling, and that they had not been listened to on any of the issues or concerns that they had raised. He also noted that the Deputy Mayor of London, Jules Pipe, had pointed out seven outstanding conditions that had yet to be met by this application. He asked the committee to consider delaying the application for this meeting.

Councillor David Taylor said that he was in two minds with this development because there is a huge need for a special needs provision and schooling in Havering, but that if he was to pick anywhere in Havering to build a special needs school, he probably wouldn't put it here. He raised questions about the traffic, the bus provision, and the MUGA.

Following further discussion, the committee voted to approve the application, subject to conditions set out in the report. The vote was three in favour, with two abstentions.

The conditions included:

• A contribution towards highway works, including the creation of a 20mph zone on Route 1 and additional areas to stop and rest along Route 1.
• Submission of a travel plan.
• Payment of a carbon offsetting payment of £49,350 towards carbon reduction programmes within the Borough.
• A formal Community Use Obligation (CUO) to secure community access to designated facilities outside of school hours.

An addendum ² to the agenda was published shortly before the meeting, which included minor amendments to the conditions and the legal agreement.